Capitals Now Also Considering Signing Evander Kane

The Edmonton Oilers are no longer the only team interested in signing Evander Kane. There was talk that a deal between the Oilers and Kane had already been struck and that it was just a matter of waiting for the NHL to come down with the ruling after investigating Kane’s travel habits, but news provided by NHL insider Elliotte Friedman suggests there’s more to the story than a done deal between the Oilers and the forward.

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During the 32 Thoughts segment of Saturday’s broadcast for Hockey Night in Canada, Friedman notes that the Washington Capitals are another team in the mix. He noted that no contract has been signed between the two sides and they may not be as serious about a deal as the Oilers are rumored to be, but the Capitals are another team that has looked into the player.

If true, that leaves Washington, Edmonton and potentially Florida and Carolina as the main teams who have shown interest in getting a deal done. The rumored price is going to be around $1-$1.5 million for the rest of the season and that’s not a bad price if Kane can come in, stay out of trouble, be effective and show well heading into a summer where he’ll get a chance to sign with another club.

When it comes the Washington vs. Edmonton, the outlook is good for Kane on either side. In Washington, he’ll get the chance to be a winger for either Niklas Backstrom or Evgeni Kuznetsov, but he might play further down the lineup as the Capitals are a deeper team on the wing than Edmonton. With the Oilers, Kane would get to play with one of Connor McDavid or Leon Draisaitl.

Most believe the Oilers are the team to watch here and that the Capitals interest is limited to them just “considering” this as an option. If that’s the case, should Kane not be suspended, he could be an Edmonton Oilers by the middle of this coming week.

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